Discrimination Class Actions

Employees have various rights guaranteed by federal and state laws, including the right to a workplace reasonably free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. The law protects certain categories that have often been the basis of disparate treatment, including race, religion, national origin, and sex. It prohibits discrimination and harassment in the workplace based on those and other categories, and it allows claims not only for monetary damages, but injunctive relief and changes in employment policies or practices. When a discriminatory employment practice is widespread and affects a large number of employees, they may be able to assert their claims together in a class action lawsuit. The Chicago discrimination lawyers at Nationwide Consumer Rights have extensive experience fighting for the rights of employees.

Unlawful Employment Discrimination

Employment discrimination refers to any practice that disproportionately affects people who belong to legally protected categories, such as decisions related to hiring, firing, layoffs, promotions, assignment of job duties, compensation, bonuses, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. It also relates to harassment in the workplace, as the law requires employees to make reasonable efforts to protect their employees from hostile work environments on the basis of legally-protected categories. The law prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee for reporting alleged discrimination or harassment, or for asserting any of the rights guaranteed to employees under the law.

State and Federal Employment Discrimination Law

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or national origin. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination based on certain disabilities. State laws, such as the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA), contain similar prohibitions. Various cities have enacted anti-discrimination laws or ordinances, including the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance (CHRO). The Civil Rights Act, as well as state and local anti-discrimination laws, consider practices like sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination to be forms of unlawful gender discrimination. Some state and local laws extend protection to additional categories. The IHRA and CHRO, for example, prohibit discrimination based on factors like sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, and military status.

Employment Discrimination Class Actions

If a large number of employees have experienced similar discrimination by an employer, they may be able to assert their claims together in a class action lawsuit. Class actions offer a way for individual plaintiffs to join forces against a significantly larger defendant, who may have substantially more resources and the means to defend against a lawsuit. This is particularly true of large employers. Classes of employees have brought successful class action claims for employment discrimination in recent years, leading to meaningful changes in employment practices and monetary damages.

At Nationwide Consumer Rights, our Chicago discrimination attorneys have dedicated our practice to the pursuit of justice for employees who have suffered from unlawful employment discrimination and other violations of their legal rights. We have decades of experience in class action litigation on behalf of employees and consumers around the country. Contact us today online or at 630-333-0000 to schedule a free and confidential consultation with a discrimination lawyer in the Chicago area.